I Don't Think I Love You Anymore
by kutnerlove
Summary: After the war ends Hermione goes back to school & Harry & Ron start work. When the H/R relationship starts to fall apart & Hermione discovers another woman how can she ever forgive Ron and where can she turn to for support? There is more than one Weasley!
1. Reunion

I Don't Think I Love You Anymore

Hermione sat by the fire in the Burrow kitchen and read out of her Charms book. It was the Christmas Holidays at Hogwarts and she was glad for the break. Much to the surprise of most of the Wizarding world, Hogwarts had opened its doors again only months after the battle in which the Dark Lord had been defeated by Harry Potter. McGonnagal as the new official headmistress had offered students an extra year if they wanted or needed it and Hermione had jumped on the opportunity, never one to miss out on learning, but it had really been a tough semester for her, especially as Ron and Harry had decided not to join her in returning.

She was looking forward to seeing them when they got off of work, excited because Ron had finally got up the nerve to ask her out and because the two of them were her best friends and school just wasn't the same without them. She looked up from her text when Ginny came shrieking down the stairs. "They're here!" the tiny red head yelled in Hermione's direction. She was just as excited as Hermione to see the boys. Hermione put down her book and quickly followed Ginny out into the yard to see the boys walking up the hill in their direction. Ginny started sprinting off in their direction and Hermione couldn't help but catch the same fever and follow the smaller girl toward her friends.

Her long hair flew around her head as she raced toward the two people in the entire world that she felt the strongest connection with. Ginny was already all over Harry when Hermione joined them and so she threw herself into Ron's arms, holding in a fierce embrace. "What a great greeting," Harry laughed.

"I could get used to coming home if I got this treatment every time," Ron added as Hermione dropped light kisses over his cheeks. After a few moments Ginny disentangled herself from Harry and Hermione let go of Ron to greet her other best friend. He smelled just the way she remembered, like grass and chocolate mixed with something that she suspected he used as an auror.

"I can't believe I haven't seen you two in months!" she exclaimed as Harry's strong arms embraced her.

"We miss you too, 'Mione," Ron told her as she let go of Harry. The foursome walked up the hill happier to be in the company of the others than they had been for what seemed like ages. Harry was busy with his first taste of being an auror. At seventeen he had become the youngest auror ever, starting his training just weeks after Voldemort's defeat. Ron was helping George at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. George had been completely devastated for a while and having Ron around had really helped him. He was starting to regain that sense of Weasley twin-ness that he and Fred and possessed so much of. Hermione and Ginny were still in school, though now in the same year. They were due to finish up in the spring and Hermione couldn't have been happier. She had planned to become a healer with St. Mungo's and was taking lessons from Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing as well as making trips to St. Mungo's every few months for interviews. Ginny wanted to be an auror as well, though her mother really wanted her to find something else. She had decided to work in the ministry office of magical law enforcement as an office assistant for a year, and then start her training in compromise. She had tamed down a bit in regard to appeasing her mother after Fred had been lost.

Mrs. Weasley was waiting in the kitchen for them when they finally made it into the house. "There you are, dears. I thought perhaps the boys had gotten here when I saw Hermione's book abandoned."

"You abandoned a book?" Ron mock gasped which earned him a swat from his girlfriend. Mrs. Weasley embraced the boys and then instructed them to set the table. "Mum! We just got home!"

"You live here, Ronald, and I expect you to help out a bit," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "When is George going to be here?"

"He said he had some business stuff to take care of, but he'll be here at 7," Ron told her. "It's like him to show up only when he knows the food will be ready."

"You leave your brother alone, Ron," Mrs. Weasley instructed. "He's running a business."

Ron grumbled, but he and Harry set the table while the girls helped Mrs. Weasley get the food ready. Mr. Weasley turned up just before George and greeted the brood, then when the shop owner walked into the kitchen Mrs. Weasley started serving the food. The talk was pleasant and Hermione felt as thought things were finally getting back to normal as the people around her laughed and filled the kitchen with warm thoughts.

After dinner Hermione really only wanted to sit around with her two best friends and catch up, but Ginny wouldn't be forced away from Harry's side and George would have been lonely had they excluded him from the group so they all sat in the living room and talked about things going on with the people that that had and were going to school with. Neville had asked Luna to marry him, surprising everyone at Hogwarts and Ron, Harry and George when they found out.

"When did they get together?" Ron asked.

"Neville? The shy, clumsy bloke?" George asked with a laugh.

"That's right. Neville asked her. They've been going out since the battle. With her father gone his grandmother asked her to stay with them," Hermione said.

"I didn't think he had it in him, either," Ginny put in. "But he walked right up to her and gave her a ring. She said 'yes' immediately.

"Good for him," Harry laughed. The conversation moved on to Lee Jordan and his job as an announcer for Ireland's quidditch team and it was Hermione's turn to be shocked. She obviously hadn't thought that his school hobby would take him that far. As their conversation went on Hermione found herself glad to be with the entire group, but longing for private time with her two friends. She hoped that sometime during the break they would find an excuse to steal them away.

George went home at nearly midnight and Ginny pulled Harry to the side to 'talk' and so Hermione at least got to spend some time alone with Ron. He led her upstairs to his bedroom in the attic and they actually talked for a bit. He kissed her softly and she nearly melted. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with him and fall asleep with his arms around hers, but he kissed her again, this time more insistently.

She responded by wrapping her arms around his shoulders and playing with a strand of his ginger hair and was thoroughly enjoying herself as he traced circles on her back. He broke the kiss for a moment and moved his mouth to her neck and her body began to heat up. He put one hand inside her shirt and traced her breast through her bra and she had to take a step back.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…I just don't think we're ready for this," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ron…I love you, but…well I want to take things slow." He reluctantly agreed, removing his hands from her shirt and placing it on her waist and staring into her eyes.

"I really want us to move forward, Hermione," he told her.

"And we will. We've only just started dating," she said. She was glad when Harry and Ginny came up, ready for bed so she didn't have to see the disappointed look in Ron's eyes. "'Night, Harry. Ron," she said, following Ginny out. They bade the girls goodnight and settled down to sleep. Even when Hermione was in bed she kept thinking about what had happened with Ron. Ginny was breathing slowly in the other bed and Hermione tried to fall asleep, hoping that sleep would allow her to forget about how he had seemed to want to hurry things along. Eventually sleep took her, but she didn't quickly forget about Ron's desires.

The rest of the break went by far too quickly for Hermione. She didn't get the time with her two friends like she had wanted, but the company of Ginny and George at least took the pressure off of her in regard to Ron's wishes. She couldn't help but feel like he was sulking a bit. Christmas brought her a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, new quills from Ron, a day dream product and a huge wink from George, personally made perfume from Ginny, a book on the Wizengamot from Harry and a few muggle gifts from her parents. She went back to Hogwarts content, with only a little niggling in the back of her mind about her relationship with Ron which she squashed in favor of getting back into her studies. She only hoped the feelings would go away by the time she saw her friends again.


	2. Strangers

Strangers

It was the day before Valentine's Day the next time Hermione saw Ron and Harry. Her last awkward experience with Ron was completely out of her head as she was so happy to see the two. The boys had agreed to meet Hermione and Ginny at the Hogs Head for a small celebration. Ginny was dressed up in a nice light pink top and skinny jeans for the occasion, her hair done up in a bun. Hermione caught the spirit of things from her overly excited friend and put on a nice pair of slacks and a rose adorned top.

They walked to Hogsmeade with the throng of other students and stopped off at the pub to meet their boyfriends. Both boys were wearing their work attire as they had taken an hour off to see the girls. Ginny practically swallowed Harry's tongue upon their greeting, Hermione gave Ron a chaste kiss.

"How's school?" Harry asked the girls.

"Boring," Ginny replied immediately.

"Not nearly as much fun as it used to be," Hermione admitted. "I love the work, but I miss you two!"

"Well I can't say that I miss the school," Ron told his companions. "But it's good to see you girls. George might as well brand me as his servant. If he needs something done I'm the first he calls."

"Well it's sweet," Hermione told him. "He's wanting to include you."

"He wants to enslave me, more like," Ron grumbled.

"Oh, Ron, get over it. George needs a friend to help him run the store," Ginny admonished. "I would think that you would want to help him. He's your brother."

"You sound just like Mum," Ron told her at which she reddened considerably and probably would have walloped him had Harry not been between them. "Good luck with that one, mate," he said to Harry.

"What about work?" Hermione asked, changing the subject. "How do you like it, Harry?"

"I love it. Moody really got me interested…well the fake Moody, anyway. I think the real one would have gotten me interested as well."

"I can't wait to be an auror!" Ginny said, getting up. "It'll be amazing working with Harry!" She walked over to the bar and placed her order for four butter beers with Madam Rosmerta.

"I don't think Mum will think it's all that amazing," Ron said before his sister returned. "She wants Ginny to be something less dangerous."

"Ginny will do what she wants," Harry replied. "I don't think Voldemort himself would have been able to stop her." His friends laughed.

"True. She nearly punched out Draco Malfoy in potions the other day for calling her a 'Weaselette,'" Hermione told the boys. "He might be friendly enough to be passably innocent, but he and Ginny will never be on good terms."

"Who would want to be on good terms with that prat?" Ron asked as Ginny sat down with four butter beers in her hands.

"What prat?" she asked, handing them out.

"Malfoy," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Is Hermione going on about him being a good person now?" Ginny asked. "She apparently thinks that he can change. I think the little slime should rot in Azkaban."

"He did help us out," Harry pointed out.

"Only because he was afraid of Voldemort and was praying to Merlin that you would get rid of him so the Malfoys could go on being evil on their own."

"Well said, Gin," Ron said, tapping his butter beer to hers." Harry and Hermione were a little more accepting of the blonde than their counterparts, but said nothing. Unless a Weasley wanted to believe something it was useless to argue about it.

The rest of their hour was spent joking about the season, even though obviously both girls were excited about it. Both of them joined in, however, not wanting to look too girly. Hermione was sad to see Harry and Ron disapparate outside of the pub, but knew that if she was patient they would all be able to get necessary evils out of the way and get on with what they really wanted to be doing.

She and Ginny walked around the village for a while, looking around shops at the various festive decorations and new items on sale. Hermione picked up a few quills and some chocolate at Honeyduke's then followed her red haired friend back up to the castle. It would be a while longer before she would be able to see her best friends. Harry was going on assignment for a few months and Ron was busy helping George out. She probably wouldn't see either of them until her graduation ceremony.

An owl came for Hermione in mid-April from Ron. Pigwigideon circled the great hall at breakfast before coming to rest in the middle of Hermione's plate of eggs. She rolled her eyes, realizing that Pig ate like the animal of his namesake and untied the scroll from his left leg. She opened the letter and read the following:

'Hermione,

I can't believe I haven't seen you in two months. Things are slowing down here at the shop and I know you're probably studying like mad for your NEWTS, but I'd like to see you. When are you free. Maybe you could come here for a weekend or something.

~Ron'

She pulled a self-inking quill out of her bag and scratched a hasty reply that she could see him over the weekend if he was free, then attached the reply to Pig's leg and sent him off, back to Ron. She thought about her boyfriend through half of History of Magic. Fortunately she had read ahead the previous night and already had the notes so she wasn't missing much. It was rare for Ron to be sentimental. She found it strange that he would want to see her, but she wanted to see him after all and had hopes of him wanting to be a little more connected with her.

It was true that they didn't owl each other that often and fireplace calls were out of the question because of the other students in the common room, so perhaps he was feeling the loss of her like she was missing him. She smiled inwardly, and thought about the day dream charm that George had given her for Christmas. Perhaps she would use it that evening and prepare herself more for her encounter with Ron.

She certainly didn't want to move too fast with him, but felt that it was alright to move a little further than she had let him go the last time. She wanted to express her feelings for Ron, but really wanted to find an emotional connection that was stronger as well as a physical one. She really hoped that Ron understood. She spent the rest of the morning thinking about how wonderful it would be when they really connected with one another.

Hermione dressed up a bit for her departure on Friday evening. She was scheduled to arrive at the Burrow at 6 for dinner and had waited until five thirty to make her way down to the gates so she could apparate. With the bottomless bag slung over her shoulder she traipsed down to the gates and once outside, turned on the spot. The Burrow came in to view and she took a deep breath, glad that she would get to see Ron. Ginny had opted to stay at school with friends so it would just be Hermione and Ron along with Ron's parents and George for dinner.

"Hello, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley greeted her beaming. "We're glad you decided to visit for the weekend. We had hoped Ginny would come along too, but she's got quidditch practice and all that…we understand."

"Hi," Ron greeted from the couch.

"Hello, Ron."

"I'll let you two kids have a moment while I get the food on the table. It's lovely to see you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said with a wink.

"I've missed seeing you," he told her as soon as his mother was out of earshot.

"I've missed you too," she replied. She threw her arms around him and he reciprocated her embrace.

"I just figured we could talk and stuff if you came here this weekend," he said by way of explanation when they broke apart.

"Right. Well I'm glad you asked me. I've been dying to see you and Harry. School just isn't right without you two. I'm glad it's almost over."

Ron laughed. "I never thought I'd hear you say that you want school to be over," he told her. She returned his smile.

"Neither did I."

"I half-expected it sooner," George said as he entered the Burrow. "Glad you two are having a lovely little reunion, but if it's gonna get mushy take it outside."

"Hi, George," Hermione greeted him.

"Hello to you too."

"Why did you think that she'd ever get tired of school?" Ron asked his older brother.

George shrugged. "You have to sometime. And sure she's a genius and all, but she's got a wild streak in her somewhere…I can tell it."

Ron rolled his eyes. "That's what you said about Verity as well."

"I was right, though, wasn't I?" George asked with a huge wink.

"You are not testing that particular theory on my girlfriend!" Ron told him, leading Hermione into the kitchen by the hand. George simply laughed and followed them to the table.

After dinner Hermione took a walk in the garden with Ron. They didn't talk at first, both sated from the good food and thinking about other things, just content to be in the company of others, then Ron asked her to sit down beside him on a small bench. He took her hand and she thought that perhaps he was about to say something either really sweet or really important.

"I think we should see other people." The statement came out in a rush and she was frozen, unsure if she had actually heard Ron say the phrase that could crush her heart to bits. "It's not that I don't want to be with you, but I've been thinking. We're apart so much that maybe we could see other people until we can be together exclusively. I still want to be your boyfriend, but…could we…"

The tears were starting to well up in Hermione's eyes and she tried to swallow to unlock her throat. Ron was actually trying to break up with her. When she opened her mouth a sound like that of a wounded animal poured forth. Ron was obviously taken aback. "I still want to be with you…but we should see other people as well," he tried again.

She couldn't breathe. Hermione couldn't breathe. Ron had broken up with her and her lungs were refusing to work. After a moment the burning sensation of being smothered spread over her internal organs and she whimpered again. Her vision was growing cloudy, but Ron couldn't know that. She wasn't breathing…

Hermione woke up with three concerned faces floating above her. Slowly the faces spread out and became bodies, and then she recognized the faces and felt like she wanted to throw up all the food that had been presented to her at dinner. Ron and his parents were looking her over with concern all over their faces. "What happened?" Mrs. Weasley wanted to know.

"She just stopped breathing!" Ron said. That wasn't true, Hermione wanted to protest. What had happened was that the man she had loved for several years who had finally agreed to be her boyfriend told her he wanted to get rid of her…and then she stopped breathing. She was levitated into the air by Mr. Weasley and they followed her into the house and upstairs. Mrs. Weasley changed her and tucked her into bed, then Ron came back in.

Hermione felt like a stranger was staring at her as she lay helpless in bed. She hadn't tried talking again, but at least she was breathing. "I'm sorry, Hermione," He said quietly. She didn't reply, merely looking up at him with teary eyes. He walked out after a moment and left her to think about what had happened in the garden.

He still wanted to be her boyfriend, a part of her said. But he wanted other girls, the rational half of her replied taking charge. She couldn't figure out why he would want other people while he was away. Was he not committed to her enough to wait for her to finish a bit of school? She only had a month or so left! Of course he wanted to be an auror. He had planned on working for George over the summer and then starting his training. But Harry was an auror and he still only wanted Ginny. Hermione was dying inside, trying to figure out why she wasn't good enough for Ron. She was still wonder when dawn broke and she had to get up and go face him for the rest of the day.


	3. The End of a Dream

The End of a Dream

Hermione found it difficult to prepare for the pain that would come from seeing Ron at breakfast. She tried to still her nerves, wondering if everyone else knew and how they would react when they found out. She took deep breaths, her hand on the door, then opened it and walked downstairs. Things looked no different than she had remembered them before Ron gave her the awful news that she wasn't good enough. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat 'round the table with Ron and George and a girl Hermione vaguely recognized as Verity, the girl who worked in George's shop.

She didn't make eye contact with Ron and didn't want to address anyone else, but George wouldn't let her alone of course. "Morning!" he greeted brightly as she walked into the kitchen. She was forced to smile at the people who looked up at her, not focusing on their faces. "I heard about your fainting spell last night. How are you feeling?" he asked. He was being unnaturally kind for a Weasley twin and she was suspicious, but didn't show it.

"Alright I suppose," she answered, sitting on the side of George that allowed her to block Ron out of her line of sight. She put bacon and eggs onto her plate and began to eat, hoping that it would be a silent meal. Of course it wasn't though. People kept asking her about school and graduation and her future plans. She was just glad that Ron kept his mouth shut.

The traitor tried to pull her to the side after she was finished eating and helping Mrs. Weasley wash the dishes, however. She reluctantly let him talk, because some part of her still wanted him; still wanted him to want to be with her even after all that he had done to cause her grief. "You should know," he started. "That Verity is the other girl that I'm dating." Hermione nearly swallowed her tongue. "I've been seeing her for a few months and we're getting along really well," he said with a nervous smile.

Ron had been cheating on her. The blunt of the words hit her and she felt woozy once more. The girl had been invited to the Burrow, no less. Hermione had eaten across from the girl that Ron wanted more than he wanted her. He looked at her expectantly as though she should congratulate him. "I never want to speak to you again, Ronald Weasley!" she yelled, turning on her heel and hurrying out of the house.

Hermione went out to the garden to cry, afraid that someone would come looking for her if she stayed inside. Mrs. Weasley had a knack of sensing when someone was crying. She buried her face in her knees; her arms wrapped around her legs and poured out all the feeling that she had ever had for Ron. He had truly betrayed her in the worst of ways and she actually never wanted to see or speak to him ever again.

She had been crying for nearly an hour, her body heaving roughly, her breathing uneven when she felt eyes on her back. She tried to stop her tears, fearing that Mrs. Weasley was watching her and wanted to try and comfort her. When she looked up through her red rimmed eyes, however; it was George and not Mrs. Weasley that was staring at her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, a little more harshly than she had intended. She simply wanted to be left alone.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I know what Ron's gone and done," he told her simply. Her bottom lip trembled and she felt the tears burning her eyes again.

"Please, just leave me alone," she begged. The sadness in her voice nearly made George well up, but he held his ground.

"I just thought that you should know: I'm the one that told him he should tell you. I didn't think it was right to go behind your back like that." He looked guilty and she tried to take in what he was saying.

"You're the reason he did this to me?" she asked, nearly yelling. "Why would you do that? Why didn't you leave it alone?"

He moved forward to capture Hermione in his arms and she let herself drop toward the ground. He caught her in his arms and tried to hold her and she cried. "I'm sorry. I didn't want him lying to you," George said, trying to sooth her by smoothing her hair and rocking slightly. "You would rather have it out in the open, right?" he asked.

She hadn't even fought when he grabbed her. She didn't care what happened anymore. She just wished that everything could go back to the way it had been and that Ron would realize how wonderful she was. She sobbed into the front of George's maroon and orange work robes, getting him all wet as he rocked her gently.

"Please don't be mad at me Hermione. I just wanted you to know the truth," he told her. She continued to sob into his chest and his guilt increased tenfold. After nearly another hour of her lamenting and him feeling guilty as hell she quieted down. He continued to rock her back and forth, smoothing her hair as she listened to the beat of his heart.

"I can't be mad at you, George," she said after a while. "My rational side won't let me."

He sighed with relief. "I just wanted you to know."

"Thank you," she said. "But I don't think I can stay here any longer."

"Do you want to go back to Hogwarts?" he asked. She looked up at him, tears still wet on her cheeks and fear in her big brown eyes.

"No. I can't go back there yet either. I just need some time to be away," she told him truthfully. "I'm going to the Shrieking Shack."

"I'll come with you," he told her. "It's my fault you're in this mess…well partially, anyway." She couldn't very well refuse him as she didn't want to be alone. If she was entirely alone she feared that she would feel utterly useless. She gathered her things, bade the elder Weasleys farewell and followed George outside to leave. He held her gently against his body as they turned, disappearing and reappearing again inside the place that so many believed to be haunted.


	4. Finding Sanctuary

Finding Sanctuary

The first few nights in the Shrieking Shack were tough for Hermione. She felt insecure about her entire existence and a little uncomfortable with only George for company. She read most of the days away, keeping to herself in the little bedroom where she and Harry and the traitor Ron had found out the truth about the death of Harry's parents. Where Harry had found his god father and had gained knowledge of his parents through Remus and Sirius, their oldest friends. George spent his days at the shop, of course. He had a business to run and couldn't very well stay shacked up with Hermione. He also wanted to give her some space to figure things out in her own head.

In the evenings at around 5:30 George would return to the shack with food and fresh clothes and water for the two of them. The shack was a bit disheveled, but not unclean as Hermione had taken the liberty of cleaning up on the first night. George generally slept in the second bedroom, right across from Hermione so as not to leave her too unguarded. They would eat together by the light of a fire and candles which Hermione had of course conjured, occasionally talking. Mostly George told her of his day at work and of his customer's antics.

By the time the two of them had been there a week; Hermione was tired of thinking about Ron and wanted to try to make a human connection again. George was surprised when he came back to the shack to find her waiting on him with treacle tarts and a roast that she had picked up in the village. He was even more surprised when she wanted to talk over dinner, and not just about how his work had been. He loved his work, of course, but didn't always want to talk about work.

"Will you tell me about some of the things you and Fred did when you were younger?" she asked him as he bit down into a treacle tart. He chewed carefully before attempting to respond.

"Are you sure you want to hear about the antics of two young trouble makers?" he asked her. "We used to give you a bit of grief as I recall."

"Yes, I'd like to hear about it. I know you must miss him terribly. And the two of you weren't so awful that I disliked you. You were just…"

"Difficult?" George offered.

"Sometimes," she agreed with a small smile. "Would you tell me about when you were really young? I remember most of what you did in public while I was in school with you."

George smiled. He had never expected the perfect prefect Hermione to want to know about his youthful trouble makings. "Alright," he agreed, "but you'll have to promise not to chide me for what's in the past."

"Fine." She smiled at him once more and settled into the low, squishy chair beside the fire to listen to his stories.

George started at the beginning of his memory. He told Hermione of his and Fred's tricks on their older brothers, even when the twins were toddlers. They had apparently always been quite the pair. Their mother had found Percy with wet sheets every morning, even after he was in perfect control of his bladder, which had been extremely amusing to Bill and Charlie. The older brothers were not immune from the toddler's jokes either, however. Fred had turned Charlie completely purple accidentally and Bill had lost his trousers in the middle of Diagon Alley on a trip to get school supplies.

George moved on to tell of his and Fred's escapades with Ron in their younger years and how they would float his toys just above his reach after he had bitten Fred on the leg while teething. Hermione was especially amused by George's tales of jokes on Ron, perhaps because of all the trouble he had caused her and the pain he had put her through. The surviving twin moved along his younger years, telling Hermione of his first inkling that he and his brother wanted to be the proprietors of a joke shop. They had apparently been planning on opening a shop of their own inventions since the age of 6 when Bill had taken them into Zonko's for the first time.

Hermione was impressed when George revealed that he and Fred had been trying to invent things since the tender age of 9. Their first attempts having been on the gnomes in the garden. George had managed to dress one as a girl with magic and the clothing had disappeared. The invisibility spell was fairly advanced so Hermione was very intrigued. "The two of you are exceptionally bright," she told him.

"Mum used to say that," George told her. "She also used to add that it would be better if we didn't waste it on something so trivial, but I think she's come 'round." George grinned and winked. Mrs. Weasley had certainly not approved of her son's venture to begin with; Hermione suspected that it was mostly because of their having dropped out of school. She had, however, warmed to the idea of the twins owning a joke shop after the business had taken off like a sky rocket. They were well off by the time they turned 19 and had helped their family, of course.

George continued telling his companion about the things that he and his late twin had done until it was nearly midnight. He had finished with explaining about the Potterwatch broadcasts and Hermione knew that he was keeping his thoughts away from the battle because that was where the duo had been halted. They said goodnight and Hermione had gone to bed comfortably, finally able to sleep somewhat peacefully. She kept thinking about the man in the other bedroom and how little she had actually known about him before their chat. He was more interesting than she had imagined and couldn't help but want to know more about him.

Every evening for the next week Hermione talked to George about all aspects of his life. She told him about her childhood and her parents as well and he seemed to be interested in her mundane existence. "Dad always liked the idea of living as a muggle for a while," George told Hermione. This was no surprise to her of course, but George's next statement was. "Perhaps your parents would like to go on vacation with mine sometime. I know Mum would like it once she got used to it."

"I'm sure my parents would like that very much," Hermione said with a smile. She had been growing closer to George for quite some time now and couldn't help but feel an attraction. She had always liked boys with Ginger hair and George was just so funny and likeable once she loosened up and gave him a chance. It was only two weeks after she'd found out about Ron's treachery, but she already felt a connection with another guy. She realized that she had a crush on George Weasley lying in bed one night and had to get up and walk around the room to clear her head. The realization was so unexpected.

She giggled thinking about it. She, Hermione Granger liked George Weasley! After admitting it to herself she felt more relieved than she had in quite some time. She decided to get a pumpkin juice out of the cooler downstairs to celebrate her findings and was surprised to find George still sitting in front of the fire when she stepped out of her room.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, suddenly blushing when she noted that he was shirtless. The orange light played across his lean, toned chest and she had to admit that he was very attractive. She forced herself to focus on his face.

"No. I just couldn't sleep and started thinking," he replied. He looked a little unsettled, but tried to hide it.

"Do you want to sleep in my room?" she asked him. "For tonight…I couldn't really sleep either." He looked her over, considering her offer, then nodded and stood. Hermione was a little nervous as she closed the door to her bedroom behind the two of them. She had never really shared a room with someone she liked…at least not alone. George was quite the gentleman, however.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said, settling down on a mattress in the floor next to her bed.

"'Night, George," she replied. She found it harder to sleep in his presence, however. She kept thinking about him in nothing but pajama pants under his blanket and discovered herself becoming fairly uncomfortable. Ron had made her feel this way only once. He had kissed her after they had been swimming in the lake. Their bodies were both wet and sleek against the others and he had grazed her bottom with his hands. She shivered, wondering what it would feel like to kiss George. To have him touch her bottom and more. It was a very frustrating night and she decided to go back to school the next day. She would still sleep in the shack with George, however. She didn't want to lose their bond, especially now that her attraction was growing…she wondered if he felt anything for her.


	5. A Second Chance

A Second Chance

Ginny wanted to know where Hermione had been, as did everyone else, when she showed up in class for the first time in two weeks. She had missed several classes and meetings about graduation issues and Professor McGonnagal asked Hermione to stop by the headmistress's office after her classes were finished for the day. Hermione managed to hold her tongue about the entire Ron situation until she made it into McGonnagal's office.

After crying uncontrollably for twenty minutes, Hermione managed to tell her professor and head of house all about how Ron had forsaken her. The woman was not unmoved by the speech, but spoke sternly. "You are supposed to finish school in one month. Are you even prepared to take your NEWTs? You've been out of classes for two weeks."

"I'm ready, Professor. All I did while I was gone was study. I couldn't manage to do anything else," Hermione told the older woman. McGonnagal thought about Hermione's situation for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. If you need help catching up you can get it from your professors. I'm sure they'll be happy to help you out. You are an excellent student afterall," the old witch said kindly. "The brightest in your year and no doubt this year."

Hermione thanked her professor, then went to the great hall to grab some food to stash in her bag beside her clean clothes and snuck out of the castle. She made her way down to the gate that bordered Hogwarts and slipped out, then apparated to the sanctuary she had found in the Shreiking Shack with George.

George was sitting in his chair, staring into the fire when Hermione arrived. He looked up upon her appearance and she saw a bit of relief wash over his pale face. "I thought you had gone for good," he told her. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you had…"

"Why would I leave?" she asked sheepishly. The sight of his disheveled hair making her stomach flutter. "I returned to school today. I'll finish out the month, and then graduate, but I want to sleep here."

"Oh," was George's quiet response. She was curious about his reaction, but decided not to press him for more. Instead she pulled the food she had nicked out of her bag and set up their dinner on the small table by the fire. The ginger was more pleased to see the food come out of her bag, she noted with a small smile.

"Hogwarts does have some great food," he said with a grin. "I didn't expect you to take any though." Hermione smiled at him and he laughed. "You're full of surprises!"

***George's POV***

He had been worried when she was absent from the shack upon his return. His good spirits disappeared almost immediately when the thought dawned on him that of course she was gone. He knew she wanted to finish school and that she would probably prefer a warm, clean space to the shack that they had been sharing. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, he chided himself. But he had grown fond of spending his evenings with the girl who for so long he considered a bookworm.

He had felt terribly guilty about convincing Ron to tell her the truth after he saw her devastated, but knew that it was the right thing to do. The first week had been a little uncomfortable for him as he had only offered his company so that she wouldn't be completely alone in the world. Over the last week, however, he had bonded with her somehow. He had taken an even greater liking to her.

George knew that his twin would have turned over in his grave if he caught wind of a Weasley twin fancying a girl like Hermione who was more reading oriented than fun, but he couldn't help himself. She was showing her fun side after the festival of tears over Ron. George realized that he could quite possibly fancy Hermione on the night that they spent in the same room. He hadn't gotten any sleep that night. She had discovered him thinking about Fred and had asked him to sleep in her room. He couldn't resist.

When Hermione had walked in from her day at school it was as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of George's chest. He had hoped that she would come back, but hadn't really had any faith. Why would she want to come back to a shell of a man? he asked himself. She had returned, however, and no matter what the reason, he was grateful.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about their friends and teachers from Hogwarts and joking about the lot. George was pleasantly surprised by Hermione's sense of humor. The conversation turned to Ginny and George grew a little more serious. He confided in Hermione that he was worried about Harry. After Ron's ignorance, he was slightly wary of the darker haired boy's motives for being with the only Weasley girl.

Hermione assured him that Harry was as pure of thought as he had been while George was still in school and his fears were quelled a bit. He agreed that Ginny could probably take care of herself in most aspects and the conversation came 'round to jobs. Hermione didn't want anything as controversial as Ginny's career choice, but she did want something interesting. She told George of her interest in healing and he was pleased. He informed her of his confidence that she would do well and there was a pregnant pause. His feelings for her were on the tip of his tongue…

"Hermione," he said after a moment. He cursed himself for not being more self-assured like a Gryffindor was supposed to be…like he had been before Fred had been killed.

"Yes?"

"I…erm…well I've been thinking. I really like staying here with you. You're…different than I thought. You've loosened up a bit." He could feel a rare blush creeping over his cheeks and forced himself to concentrate. Hermione was looking at him intently. "Well I rather like you…I mean…I know you're still not over that git of a brother of mine, but…"

"Are you asking me out, George?" she asked him, sounding astounded. The blush dominated his face and he ground his teeth, trying to regain control.

"Yes…if you want, I mean."

There was another pause and the tension was so tangible George felt as though he could have touched it. "I…I like you as well, George," she said finally. This time it felt as thought ten weights were lifted off of him as a smile spread across his face.

"Great! I'm really pleased."

"Me too," Hermione agreed. Shortly after their making the relationship official Hermione gave him a clumsy peck on the lips and rushed off to bed, heart beating as fast as his. He smiled to himself as he lay in his bed. Fred would never have believed that his twin was dating Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire.


	6. School's Out

School's Out

George was gone when Hermione woke up the next morning. She smiled to herself as she got dressed for school. After getting a light breakfast of left over treacle tart, she apparated to the front gates of Hogwarts and slipped inside. She sprinted up to the big doors and inside the castle…nearly late for her first lesson.

Ginny constantly badgered Hermione about where she had gone and what she had been doing and why she was no longer sleeping in Gryffindor tower. Hermione managed to avoid most of her friend's questions for the second day, but was nearly tackled when she arrived at dinner. Apparently Neville and Luna had missed Hermione as well. With an air of mystery, the love struck Hermione gathered together some food and slipped out of the castle once more.

She blushed before entering the shack, thinking of the sloppy kiss she had shared with George the night before. George was still at work, however, so she put together their dinner and had a chance to try and get herself together as well. "You can do this, Granger," she muttered under her breath. "It's just George Weasley. Yes, he is attractive and you are now dating him, but you are a Gryffindor and you will act like one!"

She didn't see George standing in the shadows while she was going on, trying to talk herself into standing strong. It was, therefore mortifying when his voice carried to her ears. "Attractive is he?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, praying that he hadn't actually heard her little self pep talk. He had heard it, of course, she realized. How else would he have known what she had said. She rushed off to her room, her cheeks burning hotly, without even bothering to look up at him. He couldn't help but laugh. There was nothing else to do in the situation, frankly, and had she not been very embarrassed, she probably would have found it funny as well.

He pulled himself together after a moment and knocked on her door. "Hermione, please come out! I didn't mean to laugh…it's just…well Fred was the attractive one."

Hermione snorted, which George heard through the door and a smile broke across his face again. "You were identical twins! If he was attractive, you are."

"So you're calling me attractive?" he asked her. She threw the blanket over her head and curled up into the fetal position. He had tricked her into admitting that she found him attractive. Why, she wondered, was she so stupid? She groaned, which George picked up on, much to her dismay. "I could make you moan a bit louder if you'd let me in!" he announced, which made her hate herself even more. He was laughing again and she simply wanted to disappear.

"Go away!" she yelled through the door. George just laughed harder at that.

"You don't really want me to go away, do you, Hermione?" he asked. "You want me to come in and do naughty things to you." She became even more embarrassed, if that was possible. He laughed a bit more and muttered 'alohomora,' which unlocked the door. He let himself in but she was on her feet in less than a second, wand at the ready.

"If you take one more step closer I'll hex you, George Weasley!" She declared.

He held up his hands in surrender and grinned at her. "You're pretty quick."

"I'm even quicker to hex," she replied.

George laughed, presuming himself to be out of danger. "A little minx!"

"Don't push it, Weasley!"

George stepped forward, still laughing and Hermione didn't stop herself in time to save him from her jinx. He was on the floor in a full body bind in less time than it took to blink. George wore a thoroughly shocked expression on his frozen face. Hermione shrieked, sorry for having jinxed the man she was enamored by and was quick to return him to his regular state. She dropped to the floor, wand forgotten under the bed and held his head as he stretched his arms. "You've got quite a punch to your magic," he told her, no longer laughing, but quite impressed by the way she had indisposed him.

"I am soooo sorry," she moaned.

"Don't be," George grinned up at her. "I'll learn not to mess with you." Her hands were still under his head and she seemed to be under the power of the body bind jinx as he raised his arms to wrap around her. He pulled her down, closer to him, and placed a gentle kiss on her slightly parted lips. When he let her go she stood quickly and suggested that they eat dinner. He agreed and the two had an awkward meal by the fire. Hermione slipped off to her bedroom early, claiming to have studying to do. George accepted it of course and stayed behind to watch the flames turn into embers.

Over the next few weeks Hermione and George grew more comfortable with one another. They got over their shyness and shared a few more delicious kisses over dinner and before Hermione retired to her bedroom to finish homework or study for NEWTs. She received an owl one week before graduation congratulating her for getting all 'Outstandings' on her tests. She was pleased to let George know that afternoon. He was happy for her as well.

"I think we should celebrate tonight," he said after a fierce kiss that was more passionate than they had previously shared. It left her breathless and tingling from head to toe.

"What do you mean?" she asked after finding her voice once more.

"Mum will want you to come to the Burrow for dinner, I'm sure. She doesn't know about Ron yet. But I think we should go out for a special dinner tonight," he told her.

"Alright. Where do you want to go?"

"I have a surprise," he said with a devilish wink. "Get dressed in your finest attire." The statement surprised Hermione, who was used to George liking more down to earth activities. She complied with his wishes, however, not wanting to ruin his celebration with her. When she came out of her bedroom again, dressed in a gold cocktail dress, George's jaw dropped. She was amused, but she was also intrigued when she realized that he was wearing crimson dress robes which clashed horribly with his ginger locks, but looked very dapper.

"This is a gift for me as well," he said, taking one hand and spinning her around so he could get a full view of her attire. "You look amazing."

"Thank you," she smiled at him. "You look pretty wonderful as well."

George led Hermione outside and blindfolded her, then took her hand and she realized that he was disapparating away from the Shrieking Shack with her in tow. "You can take off the blindfold now," he told her, stepping away from her side. She untied the material that had impeded her vision and the sight before her nearly took her breath away. George had brought her to the Eiffel Tower where a candle lit dinner awaited her.

"It's beautiful, George," she told him. They ate, and then George pulled out a bag that she recognized as her own bottomless one. She was curious when he pulled out balloons.

"They're full of pudding," he informed her, light dancing in his eyes. "And below us are four happy couples enjoying a moon lit dinner."

She caught on to his idea and even joined him after a while, dropping chocolate pudding onto the heads of the more romantic dining at the bottom of the tower. This was George, she realized, laughing. Her wonderful, handsome George.

They returned to the shack and said goodnight, both having thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Hermione thought about how George had managed to pull off the romantic, yet very Weasley evening. She fell asleep with a smile on her face as a memory of a red haired prankster pulling her close for a kiss while dropping the last balloon filled her mind's eye.


	7. Coming Clean

Coming Clean

The day of Hermione and Ginny's graduation dawned bright and clear. It was a Saturday and usually George wouldn't have been up at the first sight of sunlight, but he wanted to leave Hermione breakfast before heading off to work, so he crawled out of bed and pulled together the items that he had gotten on his last trip to the Burrow and started cooking.

It wasn't exactly to his mother's standards, but passable, he concluded as he slid the eggs and kippers onto a plate. He filled a glass with pumpkin juice and a mug with coffee and left the lot sitting in front of the fireplace before apparating off to the shop. Hermione smiled as she awakened, smelling the food that awaited her in the living area. She pulled on a pair of nice black slacks and a button down shirt and opened her door, ready to thank George for breakfast. Of course he was nowhere to be found. She smiled anyway and set about eating her food.

By the time she put on a bit of makeup and her robes she was nearly late, so she apparated as quickly as possible and sprinted up to the castle. "You almost missed McGonnagal's speech, Ginny said as she slid into the seat next to her best girlfriend. Hermione had told Ginny of Ron's debauchery a few weeks before in a weak moment and the red head had been shocked. Apparently the entire Wizarding world had expected Ron to marry Hermione. Hermione declared that she didn't intend to conform to the wishes of anyone and had ended the conversation there.

The red head still had no idea that Hermione was staying with George in the Shrieking Shack. In fact no one knew about Hermione's new relationship or sleeping arrangements and she like it that way. The world would judge her a hussy or woman of the evening if knowledge leaked out about her sharing quarters with a man she was not married to and she was not about to destroy her reputation to throw her new relationship in Ron's face. She had decided that he wasn't worth it over several long conversations with his much more intelligent brother.

"As you all know, the ceremony will take place in about an hour. Your families will begin to arrive in approximately half an hour. You have until then to prepare yourselves," McGonnagal told her graduating students after she ended her speech. They were dismissed and Ginny dragged Hermione upstairs to Gryffindor tower to chat before their big procession.

"That was a bore," the fiery ginger declared.

"She thought we needed a pep talk," Hermione said with a sigh, hiding her own yawn. "I suppose it's sweet."

"Right. I could see you nodding off out of the corner of my eye. Fortunately I took one of George's patent daydream potions before I came down so I was able to completely ignore McGonnagal droning on about the importance of this day. "I can't wait to get out of here so I can be one step closer to being with Harry."

Hermione smiled at the younger girl, lost in her thoughts about the boy who lived. She was as excited about seeing Harry as Ginny, though not as excited about Ron's inevitable appearance. "Are your parents coming in?" Ginny asked, breaking into Hermione's thoughts.

"What? Oh yes. They'll be here right before the ceremony begins. They wouldn't miss me giving a valedictorian address. They've been waiting on it for quite some time."

"Well we all knew that you would be the top witch in the year," Ginny gushed. "Even if you did slip off for two weeks, doing Merlin-knows-what."

Hermione blushed a bit and smiled. "Well, I've tried."

"What were you doing all that time," Ginny asked. "You never did say."

"Oh. Mostly studying," Hermione told her, trying to think of something to change the subject.

"Yes, but where did you go?"

"Erm…well…I was at the Shrieking Shack," Hermione admitted.

"Really? Harry told me it's not as bad as people make it seem. Were you scared?" Ginny asked, putting on eyeliner.

"No. Of course not. It's not really haunted."

"Mum said George's been out of touch a bit, lately," Ginny said. Hermione's heart started beating loudly and she could only hope that Ginny didn't notice. "I wonder if he'll show up today."

"I don't think he'd miss your graduation ceremony," Hermione told Ginny, relieved that the girl seemed to have moved on from Hermione's suspicious actions.

"Mum thinks he has a girlfriend," Ginny said nonchalantly.

"Really?" Hermione asked, heart racing even faster.

"Uh-huh. I hope so. He was so lonely after…well after Fred. Mum was afraid that he would shut people out."

"Right. He seems alright to me," Hermione replied, heart slowing a bit.

"Have you talked to him?" Ginny asked. She turned around to look at Hermione and saw the panic in the darker haired girl's eyes. "What's going on?"

Fortunately there was a knock on the door and Hermione was able to avoid the questions. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood at the door waiting to enter when Hermione answered. They greeted her warmly, and then moved on to admire Ginny in her robes. Hermione waited with them until it was time to go downstairs and found her own parents waiting in the Great Hall. They had a mini-reunion, which Hermione was glad of, then she moved to greet Harry who wandered over to her with George not far behind.

"It's a mess today!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm glad I didn't have to go through this."

"You and me both, mate," George put in. He winked at Hermione and accepted the hug that his mother bestowed upon him. Ron was nowhere to be seen, much to Hermione's relief. He was the only Weasley brother not present for the graduation, however. Harry explained that Ron had gone off for a week as a part of Auror training. Hermione was happy to hear that she wouldn't be seeing him, but didn't let it show overly much. The entire family knew of his new girlfriend, however, so they probably wouldn't have blamed her if she was angry.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hermione gave the address to her classmates after they received recognition as graduates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the crowd cheered as she rejoined her classmates under thousands of exploding fireworks, courtesy of George and Harry. People were milling about snacking, a while later when George came up behind her and kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her. The entire Weasley family and the Grangers as well were stunned at this.

"We've been together for a while now," Hermione told them sheepishly.

"How long?" Ginny demanded, the most visibly shaken.

"A month now," George replied with a grin. After the initial shock of the information, the couple was congratulated again and again.

"It's a blessing," Mrs. Weasley said. "I could have killed Ron when he shacked up with that…that Verity girl!"

"Easy, Mum," Bill said, patting her arm. "Ron's a prat and we know it. He'll come 'round, eventually though."

"I daresay he ought to apologize," Mrs. Weasley told Hermione before wrapping her in a hug. "Our George will take care of you, though." The celebrations were mounting up and up as Harry got down on one knee when everyone was back in the Burrow. Ginny of course said yes. It was the happiest day of her short life. Mrs. Weasley was thoroughly thrilled about getting to add Harry to the family officially as well and the clan rejoiced well into the early hours of the morning.

Hermione fell asleep in the bed beside Ginny's that night, most of her things still in the shack. She and Ginny were both exhausted, but pleased with the day's events. "Do you think you'll stay with George?" Ginny asked sleepily as Hermione was drifting off.

"I love him," Hermione muttered into her pillow before succumbing to the sweet, oblivious darkness of sleep.


	8. This is the Life

This is the Life

Hermione gathered her things from the shack and brought them back to the Burrow in the days after her graduation. No one knew about her having stayed all that time with George, unsupervised, however, and she hoped that it stayed that way. She prepared for her interview at St. Mungo's and took long walks with George in the garden. When the day came that she had to go in front of a board of healers, she dressed up very nicely and George escorted her to the hospital.

"I'll be out here if you need me," he told her, placing a small kiss on her forehead. He had decided to wait with the receptionist, a cranky old crone named Matilda. Hermione nodded. She had a feeling that George wanted to stir the old woman up a bit and planned to simply refuse to admit her acquaintance with him if said event should come to the attention of her interviewers.

She followed a tiny witch called Hattie and was led into a large, sterile looking room of cool green. Four wizards and three witches greeted her with nods and a fourth witch stood to welcome Hermione into the room and dismiss Hattie. "Miss Granger, you are aware that we take health care very seriously, I presume," the witch said. It wasn't a question. "I understand that you are the top witch of your class, but you are young…"

Two hours and several demonstrations of her talent later, Hermione returned to the waiting area as an employee of St. Mungo's. George swung her round and round in a big circle as he hugged her. "I knew you would make it," he confided. "Let's go tell Mum."

Hermione endured lots of celebrating that night on her behalf. She went to bed happy, dreams of healing and of getting a place of her own dancing in her head. She loved the Burrow, of course, but George had started sleeping in his own apartment again, which was not at all to her liking. She had half a mind to return to living at the Shrieking Shack until he returned to her company. The Weasley's wouldn't hear of it, however. They couldn't let one of their own, for that is how they saw Hermione, live 'alone' in a shack. She fell asleep thinking of cozy fireplaces where she would serve her boyfriend dinner.

The first day of work at St. Mungo's was hectic for Hermione and she was glad to retire to the Burrow at the end of the day. Ginny was off with Harry so Hermione had her time alone to think for a while. She pondered the significance of her life and decided that she had made the right choice to go into healing after her experiences on her first day.

George found her still lying across her bed and thinking later that evening. "Oi!" he greeted her with a smile. "How's life at St. Mungo's?" She sat up as he took a seat on Ginny's bed, a few feet away from her. "Next time you're in, tell Matilda hello for me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as the ginger in front of her grinned widely. "I don't even want to know," she said, shaking her head. "My day was…long."

"Mum wants you to come down for dinner," George informed her. "It's nearly seven, you know. We're all waiting on you."

"What? Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione scrambled to her feet and followed George out. He was laughing raucously and she had a strong desire to swat at the back of his head. She joined the people with whom she had come to love, even Harry was there, sitting beside Ginny and waiting for her. She took a place beside George and was feeling rather good about life until the one person able to ruin her day swaggered into the kitchen.

Ron took one look at Hermione and blanched. "I didn't think you'd be here," he said quite rudely.

"Ronald!" his mother admonished. He took a seat on the other side of Harry, directly across from Hermione and suddenly she wasn't hungry. She started to stand but Mrs. Weasley bade her sit still and the food was passed out.

"What's your problem?" George asked his younger brother when Ron didn't take the potatoes that were passed his way.

"I'm a little uncomfortable," Ron said, not taking his eyes off of Hermione. "It's weird that my ex-girlfriend is having dinner with my family."

George narrowed his eyes. "There shouldn't be a problem," he told Ron, "because she's not YOUR ex-girlfriend, she's my current one."

It took a moment for Ron to process the information that George had presented to him, but his eyes lit up when it finally clicked. "YOU?!?" Ron fairly yelled. "She's dating you?"

"Yes," George replied calmly. "I don't see why you care. You didn't care enough to treat her right so you have no say in who she should date."

Ron was turning an ugly shade of purple and George turned a smirk on. The rest of the people around the table were speechless, eyes not moving from the two red haired boys who were both looking ready to kill the other. "She can't date you," Ron ground out through clenched teeth.

"I don't see why not," George replied, his voice was cheery, though his eyes looked like poison. "And as it turns out, we've been together for nearly two months now…it's a little late for you to come back into her life as a confidant."

Ron got up from the table without another word and stormed off. Molly didn't even bother to get up and go after him. "He'll come 'round," Mr. Weasley said, not as confidant as he would have liked to have been. "Just give him a while for the information to sink in."

"I don't think he will," George told his father, taking another spoon of potatoes from the bowl and handing them across to Harry. The rest of dinner was nearly silent.

The next two months were spent preparing for Harry and Ginny's wedding and working. Hermione wanted to help Mrs. Weasley out as much as possible in regard to her best friends' wedding, but she was also swamped by the new job. George usually came by in the afternoon to talk to her and try to keep her mind off of the craziness of work and the unpleasant relationship that she now had with Ron…her former boyfriend and best friend. He hadn't come 'round as everyone expected, but she had almost decided not to care.

The day of the wedding dawned bright at the Burrow and Hermione went down to breakfast to grab some food before Mrs. Weasley found something else for her to do. She had been assigned the Maid of Honor and was therefore number 2 in charge of getting things together. She found George in the garden and ate with him, then trudged back to the house to begin setting up for the main event of the day.


	9. Making Vows

Making Vows

The wedding was set to begin within the hour and Hermione was just slipping into the pale yellow dress that would distinguish her as a bride's maid. She had wrapped her hair up on top of her head in an elegant bun and put on a modest amount of makeup before getting Ginny dressed and her shoes would make her look like the maid of honor that she was to be. Mrs. Weasley was wringing her hands, both nervous and excited about her daughter's nuptials. Hermione had had to instruct the boys about where to put the chairs after Molly had started sniffling when asked.

The only thing that Hermione was dreading about the ceremony was the fact that Ronald-scum bucket-Weasley was the best man and she would have to stand across from him for the entire program. She put on her best smile and went to join Fleur and Mrs. Weasley in the living room with Ginny.

The bride looked wonderful; Hermione had to admit when she saw Ginny standing between her mother and sister-in-law. She was radiant in her long white dress which hung to her slight frame nicely. Mrs. Weasley had curled Ginny's hair, which now hung down her back in coppery ringlets and secured the misty veil to her head. "Can you believe our little girl will be married in an hour?" Molly asked her husband when he walked into the room. Mrs. Weasley was sniffling already, having crooned over Ginny all morning. "And to Harry Potter, no less!"

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "Well there isn't anyone better suited for her," he pointed out. "You look lovely," he added to his daughter, taking in the sight of her. Ginny grinned in reply. She really liked the attention that she was receiving for being a bride-to-be. She was also very excited to be the future Mrs. Harry Potter. Hermione watched the scene with bitter sweet reverence. She wanted to be part of this family someday and hoped that her own parents would dote on her as The Weasleys were with Ginny.

The guests were seated and the procession had begun. Hermione stood uncomfortably near her ex-boyfriend/best friend one arm draped over his, waiting on her turn to proceed down the aisle. She didn't like having the contact with Ron and wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. She finally made it to the alter and was a little too quick to pull away from him, but hoped the guests didn't notice. She didn't want to ruin Ginny and Harry's wedding after all.

The ceremony seemed to take a long time. Harry winked at Hermione several times when she tried to stifle yawns. When the happy couple finally said I do, Hermione clapped with the rest of the guests, partly out of relief. The wedding march played out of an ancient organ from beside the alter and the guests followed Mr. and Mrs. Potter down the aisle and back into the house. Hermione was simply pleased that she wouldn't have to stand so near Ron for the rest of the day.

George caught up with Hermione during the reception. She accepted his invitation to dance and was led out into the garden to join the crowd of other couples swaying to the music of the muggle band that Mr. Weasley had insisted upon hiring. Of course all 4 band members had been put under a spell to prevent them finding out about the Wizarding world, but they still played fairly well.

"How did you like being in the wedding?" George asked his girlfriend. He had been assigned to helping people find their seats.

"It was fine," Hermione replied, taking in the scents of the things around her and committing them to memory. "The only thing that wasn't exactly perfect was the best man."

"I'll second that," George replied. "He doesn't even qualify as a man, let alone the best Harry could come up with."

"They are best friends," Hermione conceded with a sigh. "And Harry's my best friend, so I endured it for him."

"They're lucky to know someone as wonderful as you," George told her, twirling her 'round the garden. After a few more dances, Hermione and George joined Harry and Ginny near the huge wedding cake that had been designed by Mrs. Weasley for the occasion. Food was passed out and firewhiskey started flowing and Hermione was slightly tipsy by the time the party came to an end. She said a slurred goodbye to Harry and Ginny and retired to Ginny's room to try and get herself together.

Hermione was undressing when George came in. He froze, taking in the sight of her in only undergarments, not unpleased by the happy accident. Hermione was less thrilled, however. "GEORGE!" she exclaimed. She started to question his motives, but he silencioed her and apologized for the intrusion…he was only slightly sincere.

"I came to see how you were," he told her as she covered up with the long nightshirt that she had already laid out for the evening. "You don't drink very often, do you?" She shook her head and he laughed a bit. He took the silencing charm off of her and she started to berate him, but he held up a hand.

"Can we just…" He didn't finish the question. He walked across the room and kissed her square on the mouth. The connection was full of passion and unlike anything she had ever experienced. Feelings shot through her body and her knees went weak. George eased her down onto the bed in a sitting position to remedy her unsteadiness. "You're beautiful," he said, breaking the kiss to breath. "I think I'm in love with you, Hermione."

That was all it took for her to attack him. He was on his back on the bed in less than the time it took to blink with a very excited Hermione Granger straddling him. George wasn't about to complain, however. He let her explore the inside of his mouth for a while, while he stroked down her back. When she broke their connection to breathe again George nuzzled her neck, making her whimper.

A pool of molten feeling was taking over her belly and the feeling was spreading down. She knew about sex and lust, of course, but had never really been interested until now. Even with Ron there was no urgency like George was causing. He flipped them over so he could take control and slow things down a bit, afraid that she would scare herself. He kissed her with slow devotion that only fanned the flames of her desire. She pulled at his shirt, untucking it from his trousers and fumbled with the buttons. He removed her hands and shed the shirt nimbly, never losing contact with her body. She looked his lean form over, pleased with the definition she found and had secretly craved since that night in the shack.

His pants and shoes were next and only when he wore only boxers did George begin to undress Hermione. He slid the night shirt back over her head and discarded it with the pile of his clothes and took in the sight of her partial-nudity once more. Her light pink underwear set complemented her complexion quite nicely, he decided. He removed the bra next, covering one quivering nipple with his hot mouth as the other was massaged by his ample hands. She gasped at the unexpected pleasure he was giving her, the need to feel him all over her nearly all-consuming.

George was far from opposed to skin on skin contact and helped her to strip off his underwear. She paused, taking in the sight of his large penis. She had never seen one on a real man before and was a little curious about it. When she realized she was staring she blushed and quickly looked away, however. George simply laughed and kissed her until the red stain on her cheeks disappeared.

His erection was pressing into Hermione's thigh and it nearly drove him wild. The softness of her skin beckoned to him and he had to let his hands explore every inch of her virgin flesh. He was well aware of her virginity as Ron had complained about it nearly constantly. George was thrilled to be the first to get to experience the love of Hermione.

They kissed fiercely as his hands roved over the curve of her hip, taking her flimsy panties down as he went. He shook off the material and carefully explored her bud, causing her to jump and squirm. He was touching a part of her that she herself had not fully come to terms with, Hermione realized and she felt very close to him. She let out a moan when George dipped one finger into her slick heat.

He pumped gently and she moaned again and again, loving the feeling of him being inside her. After several moments of teasing her with his hands he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss and replaced his finger with his throbbing organ. She gasped into the kiss, the stretching painful, but when she relaxed against him it subsided and she was able to let him know that he could continue.

George took the nod from Hermione and started moving slowly. He was nearly taken over the edge immediately by the tightness of her walls, but forced himself to concentrate…to try and give her some pleasure. She squirmed under him and he froze, afraid that he was hurting her…she whimpered in response and he realized that she wanted more. He picked up the pace and as she sighed her appreciation he let himself go, shooting his seed into her depths. He lay still inside her for a moment, panting and reveling in the feeling of her. She kissed his forehead and he looked up into her dark eyes.

The feelings he found there confirmed that he was indeed in love with a bookworm. They fell asleep together after their whispered vows to love the other for all time.

The End


End file.
